The ZED Mariel in 2018

When 2018 just ended, we reviewed the main advances of the Mariel Special Development Zone. In the year of its fifth anniversary, the Zone continued to consolidate itself, with an evolution that corresponds to what was foreseen in its development projections.

During the past year, the ZED Mariel achieved several significant results, and among them it stands out that with respect to previous years, a qualitative development was experienced in attracting investments. The amount of foreign investment attracted reached 481,284.9 million USD, a figure that doubles that of 2017, and represents the largest sum captured since the creation of the Zone.

The 10 businesses approved in the year show diversity both in the investment modalities and the countries of origin, as well as in the sectors. The pillar industries continued to consolidate, and highly important projects for the country materialized, in terms of the technologies used and import substitution.

Among the businesses established in 2018, the approval of the first administrative concession for the development of an industrial park in an area of ​​156 hectares stands out, which will favor the attraction of businesses.

The development of infrastructure and the incorporation of new services in Sector A, in accordance with the Territorial and Urban Planning Plan, has also been a priority during 2018.

In parallel to the establishment of businesses, work was done on the preparation of plots and on the already inaugurated Angosta Multimodal Station, as well as on the development of roads, waste treatment plants and underground networks of aqueduct, sewage, electricity, public lighting and infocommunications. . In this sense, the investments undertaken by ETECSA for the availability of 4G technology stand out.

Likewise, emphasis has been placed on the development of services to support the establishment of businesses. In this way, investments have been promoted for the expansion of food and transport services. In addition, the Single Window System is perfected in the facilitation of procedures, the application and processing of licenses, permits and authorizations and their timely issuance in agile terms.

ZED Mariel begins 2019 with 43 approved businesses, of which 17 are in operation and 2 have authorization to start operations.

For this year, the Zone has the challenge of maintaining the rhythm in attracting investments and continuing to develop the infrastructure and services for the agile establishment of new users and concessionaires. With the entry into business operations of the productive sphere, the challenge of consolidating productive chains with national companies is added in order to achieve greater integration with the country's economy.